Chairman of Sapra encourages young people to join the association

Chairman of Saxonwold and Parkwood Residents Association (Sapra) Bill Haslam reflects on his 10-year journey and encourages more residents to join the association.

Haslam joined Sapra in 2013, shortly after he relocated to Saxonwold with his family after living in Craighall Park.

“My wife and I frequently went for walks at Zoo Lake and she was disappointed in the state it was in when we attended the Sapra AGM shortly after we had heard that volunteers were needed. We both volunteered for Sapra and my wife said she was happy to volunteer at Zoo Lake.”

The chairman noted that his involvement was a way of giving back to the community and kept him busy.

He highlighted that he played a few roles in the association shortly after joining which included creating a website and designing a contribution system for people to contribute online. “I was also involved in town planning which is a constant issue for Sapra because there were always developers who want to put buildings in the residential area.

Haslam mentioned the slow deterioration of service delivery and how it impacts the community as a major challenge for him as the chairman.

The 79-year-old said as much as there were challenges, there were also aspects of the association that he enjoyed, like the building of the community with different members.

“Parkview has more establishments than Saxonwold, so it is great to meet new people and form relationships within the community. The nice thing is that there are new, young families who are keen on joining which is lovely to see.”

The community leader urged and encouraged more community members to join Sapra. “Sapra is a vessel and an organisation that is there for the community and must be utilised accordingly. People must join if they are interested in helping their community and being part of it.”

Interested residents can visit their website here.

Haslam concluded that he would soon be 80 years old and has been active for 10 years made him want to step down from his position.

“I have been saying we need a new chairman since May because I have been involved for 10 years now, but at our last meeting, no one was keen to take up my position so we resorted to splitting my duties among ourselves but remain chairman and we will see how that works. I also want more people involved and engaged and eventually take up positions in the association.”

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